


the invisible boy

by ifwehadbeeninlove



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, kind of a fantasy au, since jeonghan is invisible, this has a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22255267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifwehadbeeninlove/pseuds/ifwehadbeeninlove
Summary: seungcheol found that with a little love, patience and understanding you could turn the invisible boy visible again.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups & Yoon Jeonghan, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	the invisible boy

**Author's Note:**

> this is kinda loosely inspired by the story of the invisible child by tove jansson. that story moved me when i was just a kid and i still love it so much.
> 
> i just started writing this and couldn't stop so i ended up using this whole day to write this omg. writing a story in a language that is not your first language really is a challenge. i was really happy to write this!
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy this! at least it's not angsty this time.

seungcheol was mostly content with the life he was living – a cottage near the edge of the forest, a garden full of flowers and vegetables and a dog to keep him company. his house wasn’t big or anything like what the richer villagers had, but it was good enough for seungcheol. it was a home. the vegetables and flowers he grew in his garden were enough for him to make a living selling them.

his life was pretty good.

however, seungcheol couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing from his life – love. he was twenty four years old and had never been in love, not even once. he was handsome, reliable and likable so it wasn’t like seungcheol was lacking attractive qualities. he just hadn’t met the right person yet. sounds like a cliché, but it was true.

seungcheol’s friends were relentless when they would pester him about it. jihoon would tell him that if he didn’t find someone soon, he’d probably end up being alone forever. seungcheol thought his best friend was being way too dramatic – twenty four was still a rather young age if you asked him. despite what his friends said, seungcheol had plenty of time to fall in love with someone.

and he wanted to, really. he wanted to know what it felt like. seungcheol had asked jihoon about it, what being in love was like, but his friend had simply said, “you’ll know when it happens to you.” it was a frustrating answer, but seungcheol decided to just believe it. and although he had been patient before, now he couldn’t wait to find out.

little did seungcheol know, he would find love in the most unexpected place.

**

seungcheol loved taking long walks in the forest near his little cottage. nature was something he had always appreciated, and hearing the leaves rustling in the gentle wind and the small birds chirping their songs helped him to forget whatever was troubling him at the time. this time nothing was actually bothering seungcheol, he had just wanted to escape the village for even just a little while.

he was walking deeper into the forest, lost in his thoughts. his thoughts of what he would cook for himself later in the day were interrupted when he heard someone singing. seungcheol stopped walking immediately, surprised. the voice was as clear as spring and so, so _beautiful_. intrigued, seungcheol decided to find the person the voice belonged to.

he followed the voice to where he was sure it was coming from, and what he saw had him rubbing his eyes and wondering if he was dreaming.

there, kneeling by a stream of water, was someone – but something about the sight was not ordinary. the person had long black hair and they were wearing a worn down shirt and pants and shoes, but that was all seungcheol could see. as in, the person didn’t have a face, hands, nothing else. they were _invisible_.

_either this is a dream or i have completely lost my mind_ , seungcheol thought, his mouth hanging open in disbelief and awe. the person didn’t sense his presence and kept singing. it was the most beautiful sound seungcheol had ever heard in his life, and despite his initial shock of seeing _an invisible person_ , he couldn’t look away.

in his stupor, seungcheol accidentally stepped on a twig, and the sound startled the person who turned around to look at him. if they had a face, seungcheol was sure they’d look surprised and maybe a little scared. they certainly sounded scared when they spoke up, “w-who are you? where did you come from?” seungcheol didn’t want the person – apparently a man around the same age as himself, he noted – to think he was going to hurt him, so he rushed to reassure him.

“ah – no – i’m seungcheol. i was just passing by when i heard you sing.”

the invisible boy stood up slowly and carefully, clearly not trusting seungcheol. he did not have a face, but by his body language seungcheol could tell he was frightened. he took a step towards the boy, who in turn took one step backwards, almost stumbling into the stream and just barely catching himself in time. “you don’t have to be scared. i’m not going to do anything bad to you. i just wanted to hear you sing”, seungcheol said softly, trying to come off as friendly as possible.

the boy seemed to relax a little bit, but was still cautious. seungcheol couldn’t blame him though – he was just a stranger in a forest, after all. and he himself was shocked too because, you know, the boy was _invisible_. something about him was intriguing, though, and seungcheol couldn’t just leave him alone.

so, he decided to try to find out more about the invisible boy. “what’s your name?” seungcheol asked, hoping that the boy would answer. he was quiet for a moment, before mumbled something seungcheol didn’t catch. “what?” the boy visibly flinched at that, and seungcheol felt the need to apologize immediately. “i’m sorry – i just didn’t hear what you said, that’s all.” why was the invisible boy so scared?

“my name is jeonghan”, the boy repeated his words, still quiet but loud enough for seungcheol to hear this time. he decided to ask another question, because it seemed like an okay thing to do as the boy had not bolted into the forest yet. “and what are _you_ , jeonghan, doing in the forest alone?”

jeonghan nervously fiddled with the hem of his shirt with his invisble fingers and took his time to think before answering, “i ran away.” again, he spoke so quietly seungcheol barely heard his response.

seungcheol was surprised to hear jeonghan had ran away. “from what? why?” he asked, hoping that he had not overstepped boundaries.

he didn’t expect jeonghan to answer, but with a timid voice the boy said, “my father. i was scared.”

before seungcheol could react to this information, jeonghan continued, “it’s because of him that i turned invisible.” after this jeonghan turned away from seungcheol, clearly ashamed of what he had just told him, a stranger. seungcheol didn’t immediately know what to say. he was wondered what possibly could have happened between jeonghan and his father. he wanted to know, he wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to push the boy too far so he settled on asking, “do you have a place to stay?” seungcheol could tell by the movement of jeonghan’s hair that he was shaking his head no. “come to my place, then”, he offered, “even if just for talk.” jeonghan didn’t say anything, and seemed hesitant so seungcheol said, “i have a dog. and i can show you my garden.” at the mention of the garden, jeonghan perked up but still didn’t sound sure when he whispered, “okay.”

**

the whole walk back to seungcheol’s cottage, jeonghan stayed silent, just listening to seungcheol talk. seungcheol respected his wish to not talk, and the other boy seemed to appreciate this. when they finally reached the cottage, seungcheol’s dog ran towards them to greet them. the dog was understandably confused to see a new person accompanying his owner, but wasn’t hostile. much to seungcheol’s surprise and delight, jeonghan didn’t seem to fear the dog at all.

“come in”, seungcheol said and led jeonghan inside the cottage. “it’s not much, but at least it’s a house.” jeonghan carefully stepped in, unsure what to do next. seungcheol closed the door behind them and the other boy was nervous again. “please, sit where you want”, seungcheol said, gesturing with his hand towards the chairs in the small area he called his living room. jeonghan took a seat and seungcheol sat on the chair next to him.

“your house is nice”, jeonghan whispered, “a lot nicer than my house.” seungcheol hadn’t expected jeonghan to speak without being prompted, but he was glad to see that maybe he was a little more comfortable around him now. “how so?” he asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. “it’s clean and it looks… cozy. and it’s quiet”, jeonghan said. “no one is yelling.” that piqued seungcheol’s interest. did jeonghan’s father yell at him so much that it scared him? had jeonghan turned invisible because he was scared?

“is that why you’re invisible? because you’re scared?” seungcheol decided to ask, even if there was a possibility jeonghan wouldn’t want to answer that. something about the boy just pulled at seungcheol’s heartstrings.

“yes”, jeonghan admitted quietly. seungcheol felt his heart breaking for the invisible boy. he couldn’t understand why anyone would treat him in a way that wasn’t gentle, a way that wasn’t loving. something in him wanted so badly to show jeonghan that he didn’t have to be scared. seungcheol knew they had just met, but he couldn’t help his heart.

so he stood up and said, “come, i’ll show you my garden.”

**

the garden was seungcheol’s pride and joy. he couldn’t see what expression jeonghan had when he saw all the white and pink weigelas, crimsom camellias and the white hydrangeas but he wanted to believe the invisible boy was smiling. he hoped he was. they walked through the garden, and from time to time jeonghan wanted to stop to look at the flowers closer. “do you like flowers?” seungcheol asked when they were standing in front of a shrub rose bush. jeonghan nodded. “i love them.”

seungcheol smiled at jeonghan’s answer and reached out to snap one flower from the bush. without even realizing what he was doing, he placed the rose carefully into jeonghan’s long, black hair. “that’s pretty”, seungcheol said, and it was sincere. jeonghan was silent for a moment and just when seungcheol thought he wasn’t going to say anything, he whispered a shy “thank you.”

jeonghan reached his hand to touch the flower in his hair and that’s when seungcheol saw it – jeonghan’s hand. it wasn’t invisible anymore.

seungcheol swore it was the prettiest hand he had ever seen.

jeonghan must have noticed him just staring at him, because he asked cautiously, “what is it? is something wrong?” seungcheol smiled and shook his head. “your hands, they’re visible.”

“oh.” jeonghan instinctively brought both of his hands to try and cover his face. it was so adorable and seungcheol’s heart melted at the sight. he grinned and took one of the other boy’s hands in his and started to pull him towards the other side of the garden. “let’s go see the strawberries.”

**

seungcheol was delighted to discover that jeonghan loved strawberries. once again he wanted so badly to see the look on jeonghan’s face, he wanted to see him happy and smiling. he wanted to see if jeonghan was as beautiful as he was in his imagination.

seungcheol had made jeonghan’s hands turn visible again. he wasn’t really sure how he’d done it, but wanted to do it again. turn something else visible, too. it was weird, seungcheol knew, being this infatuated with someone who had been a mere stranger just hours ago but he couldn’t deny the pull he felt towards jeonghan. his heart longed to make jeonghan believe he was loved again, to make all the fear that had been forced into him disappear. he wanted to _see_ _jeonghan._

seungcheol hoped jeonghan felt the same pull towards him, because he believed that if he just could show the invisible boy all the ways he could be loved without having to be scared, jeonghan would be able to turn visible again.

so seungcheol asked if jeonghan would like to stay with him.

and much to his surprise but absolute delight, jeonghan said yes.

**

during the following days that eventually turned into weeks, seungcheol got to see jeonghan come out of his shell little by little every day.

the first few days were awkward, but seungcheol was determined to get to know jeonghan and help him. he would sometimes ask the invisible boy to sing, which he refused the first couple of times but after seungcheol pleaded with him, he complied. seungcheol didn’t know what angels sounded like, but he could bet everything he owned that jeonghan sounded like one when he sang. so he would tell him so, and jeonghan would get embarrassed, but one time his ankles turned visible.

they’d cook together, and seungcheol discovered that the other wasn’t a very good cook – but willing to learn. so seungcheol guided him, showed him how to season vegetables and how to properly cook a stew. jeonghan struggled, but seungcheol was patient and eventually the boy didn’t need his help at all to make a meal for them. seungcheol told jeonghan he was proud of him, and jeonghan’s ears turned visible.

jeonghan even met jihoon, hansol and some other friends of seungcheol’s. he was nervous and scared at first, and seungcheol’s friends were confused by the invisible boy. however, with seungcheol’s careful and gentle prodding, jeonghan told them about himself. he told them his favorite flower was rose, strawberries were his favorite food and he loved singing. jeonghan would sing together with jihoon, which seungcheol found absolutely heartwarming. the invisible boy was opening up, and he turned out to be a very kind, smart and _lovable_ person. at one point he even started to tease seungcheol, which was probably supposed to be annoying but it only made seungcheol smile and feel happy. the next part of jeonghan to turn visible was his neck.

at one point, jeonghan came up with a nickname for seungcheol. one evening when they were eating dinner the boy called him “cheollie” and seungcheol was so taken aback he almost choked on the potatoes. jeonghan laughed the most genuine laugh seungcheol had ever heard from him and something squeezed his heart in a good way. “thanks for the nickname, _hani_ ”, seungcheol said, emphasizing his own nickname for jeonghan. the boy immediately stopped laughing. the lower part of jeonghan’s face, up until his mouth, turned visible. he had pretty, rosy lips.

**

_you’ll know when it happens to you._

seungcheol remembered the words jihoon had said about what being in love feels like as he was looking at jeonghan who was sitting in a chair by the window, crocheting. he had recently told seungcheol that his mother had taught him how to crochet when he was younger. and so, seungcheol had got him crocheting supplies. jeonghan had been so thankful that he had hugged him for the first time.

the butterflies in seungcheol’s stomach after that hug had got him wondering.

he had obviously been infatuated with jeonghan ever since he saw him singing in the forest, but could it be he had fallen for him?

when jeonghan called out, “cheollie! come see this!”, seungcheol remembered how quiet he had been in the beginning, and how with seungcheol’s help he had found his true self again.

and the jeonghan he saw and knew now, was beautiful even with the upper part of his face still invisible.

seungcheol indeed was in love.

**

seungcheol came up with a plan to confess his feelings to jeonghan. he wasn’t sure if he felt the same way about him, but he hoped he did and that was enough. he just wanted the boy to know that he was loved.

and so, one evening seungcheol decided to set up a romantic picnic in the garden under the stars. he had bought all kinds of pastries from the bakery and of course picked strawberries from the garden. that evening, the sky was clear of all clouds and the stars were on full display.

they were sitting side by side on the soft blanket. jeonghan had his head turned up towards the stars and seungcheol was looking at him. he couldn’t help thinking that not even the stars could match up to the way he saw jeonghan. the boy’s eyes and nose still weren’t visible, but seungcheol already knew he was the most beautiful creature to ever exist on the humble earth.

_now_ , seungcheol thought, _now’s your chance to tell him_.

“jeonghan”, seungcheol said, with less confidence than he had been going for. jeonghan turned his head towards him and seungcheol _blushed_. the other boy immediately picked up on it and decided to tease seungcheol. “you’re red as a tomato”, he giggled, poking seungcheol’s cheek and even though the other felt embarrassed, he couldn’t fight the smile forming on his lips. he grabbed jeonghan’s wrist to stop him from poking his cheek and said, “hani, please listen.”

“what? is something wrong?” jeonghan asked with a concerned tone in his voice. seungcheol shook his head. “no, nothing like that. i just have something i want to tell you.” jeonghan didn’t say anything, just waited for seungcheol to continue. seungcheol cleared his throat, all words suddenly dying on his tongue. “we… i mean i….”

jeonghan tilted his head and seungcheol decided the best thing to do was to just go ahead and say it. so, with all the courage he could muster up, he looked at jeonghan and said: “i’m in love with you.”

jeonghan’s mouth fell open in surprise and he froze. “you’re…. what?”

suddenly seungcheol found it hard to look at the other, so he turned his face the other way. he felt his face burning with embarrassment and dread that jeonghan was going to reject him. “i… you don’t have to feel the same way”, seungcheol quickly said. “i just wanted to tell you. i’m sorry.”

jeonghan was quiet for a moment and seungcheol was sure he had messed everything up. he was about to apologize again, but jeonghan was quicker. “cheollie. look at me”, the boy said and seungcheol hesitated, but decided to comply.

and what he saw took his breath away.

jeonghan’s whole face had turned visible. his big, brown eyes and nose were visible. all of jeonghan was now visible, and seungcheol couldn’t almost believe it was real.

“cheollie”, jeonghan said, pulling the other out of his thoughts, “this is all your doing. i’m all visible now.” there was a smile on his beautiful face and seungcheol couldn’t get a word out of his mouth. “you loved me. thanks to you i’m me again.” jeonghan reached out to touch seungcheol’s face with a delicate hand. “and i love you too, cheollie.”

seungcheol was the first one to close the distance between them, gently kissing jeonghan on the lips. his head was spinning as jeonghan kissed back and he had to pull back. seungcheol still couldn’t find the words, just dumbly stared at the other who was holding back his laughter. seungcheol decided to kiss him again. and again. and again.

and this time, when he finally pulled away, he asked: “will you stay here with me? for good?”

jeonghan gave his answer by pulling him back into a sweet kiss.


End file.
